Society
The SG’s secret SpAds
“The Scottish Government recently declared itself a “global leading light in the campaign for more open and accessible government”. Going backwards in terms of openness and accessibility in relation to special advisers suggests that there’s…
Children tell Scottish cabinet how it is
“There are teachers in the playground but bullying usually gets taken to the classroom teacher and they don’t always deal with it. Teachers think their job is to educate children but they should realise it…
Critical – or complaisant – friends on education
“The government should, of course, be consulting with experts and gathering evidence, but it is difficult to shake off the feeling that this particular group has been constructed with an eye on PR rather than…
Save our NHS before it’s too late
Almost 70 years old, the NHS has saved countless millions of lives, now it’s up to us to keep our NHS alive. Pat Sutherland makes a robust and moving case for action.
My Irish Baby Box, a vintage treasure with topical notes
‘It’s a post-war period piece, a personal memento from a different world and yet it echoes with the aims of the Finnish baby box.’ Fay Young re-opens her forty-year-old Irish ‘baby box’ to find topical…
Hard to read the Scottish Budget
“Commentators (myself included) can be pretty critical of the opposition parties at Holyrood for not being more effective. But if the budget document – one of the single most important things the government puts before…
SG holistic education policy: success or failure?
“In terms of the effect of attainment strategies on future university entry, we can say that the SG expects substantial results from schools in 10 years and from its expanded childcare provision (to vulnerable 2…
Swinney’s magical mystery tour in education
‘As Paasi Sahlberg, the apostle of the Finnish education miracle, recently put it, Scotland’s system is “knocking on heaven’s door” – not quite paradise but within sight.’ Analysis of the tasks ahead for John Swinney….and…
Integrating British Transport Police on a ‘shoogly peg’
‘It is difficult to see the logic in saddling Police Scotland with more structural upheaval,’ the author argues about the planned integration of British Transport Police. The Scottish Government is wrong to say that the…
Schools: ending poverty and poor performance
Deprivation and poor school performance go together – and have done for generations. If the First Minister truly wanted to start to end this perennial blight on Scotland she would have put John Swinney in…
Widening access with greater borrowing powers
The Scottish Government is keen to stress the role of college-based HE in getting poorer students into degree courses. But it ignores the cumulative effect of cuts to student bursaries over the years since 2007.
Scientific adviser, headhunters and sundries
The Scottish Government has finally appointed a new Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) – months late. Our own CSA muses on the appointment and what else lies in store for Scottish higher education.